Anxiety and beliefs. If we suffer from anxiety disorders during skiing, we tend to rely on our own distorted beliefs of aptitude and mastery. In terms of performance, we believe that a successful outcome is all that matters and that to make a mistake is to fail. Our mastery or control belief refers to the fear of being dominated by the environment or by situations that leave us unable to act. These false beliefs lead us to not allow ourselves to lose control. In general, they are assumptions that enhance the risky or dangerous characteristics of a compelling situation, paralleled by a dismissal of our own capabilities. If we have poor control of our skiing, we are generally more vulnerable to anxiety.
Anxiety and tension. We mentioned that anxiety is the manifestation of our organism when preparing for action. At an adequate level, and in real situations, it is useful and necessary, but in imagined situations it becomes a redundant energetic expense. The vicious circle of tension that generates anxiety is then produced and this, in turn, generates more mental and physical tension.
Anxiety and fear. Anxiety can be considered as a diffuse sensation of fear in which there is a tendency to excessive worry towards the unknown, being interpreted as something provocative. The difference between a fearful skier and an anxious skier is that the former knows what he is afraid of, while the latter does not.
Anxiety and adaptation. According to Freud, anxiety is adaptive if it leads us to learn new ways of coping with the challenges of life (or skiing, in our case). The anxious skier often imagines that something bad might happen and therefore does not enjoy skiing, depriving himself of appreciating the pleasurable moments that the activity generates.
Some anxiety triggers are:
- Comparison of ourselves with our own goals.
- The comparison with other learners or athletes of the same or another group.
- The relationship with the instructor and coach.
- The situation prior to an important event such as a certain descent, an evaluation, or a competition. In these cases, the solidarity among peers makes possible a decrease in anxiety.
The experiential effects of anxiety are:
- Negative thoughts, worry, or cognitive tension.
- Decreased concentration and difficulty in decision making.
- Cognitive avoidance as a form of repression by refusing to pay attention to frightening aspects of the environment.
- Muscular tension or generalized postural rigidity.
- Clumsy movements, paralysis, or motor hyperactivity.
- Disorganized or avoidance behavior.
- Consummatory behavior (smoking/drinking).
- Vigilant posture toward pressing aspects of the environment.
- General avoidance of activity such as tardiness, inattention, lack of participation, continual fidgeting, avoidance of eye contact, or disproportionate self-criticism.
- Exaggerated practice or excessive competitiveness may also be considered symptoms of anxiety.
Strategies we can use to deal with anxiety while skiing
Taking into account that the activation of anxiety lies in our anxiogenic thought or ideation, one of the most effective strategies to reduce its effects is to focus on the control of the controllable by orienting our attention to the present processes and so compensate intrusive thoughts. But beware: repressing thoughts produces the opposite effect, so the best thing to do is to learn how to manage them.
Some of the strategies to reduce the consequences of anxiety are:
- Cognitive distancing: this is based on considering anxious thoughts as simple assumptions that something may happen but will not necessarily happen. If we are going through an anxious state we should reflect by asking ourselves, based on our experience, the real feasibility of the supposed threat, the probabilities of something negative happening, or of the opposite happening, i.e. something positive.
- Focusing on the present experience: it is to direct our attention towards what is being experienced, which helps us to inhibit the invasive thoughts of previous negative experiences. It is to accept what “is”, i.e., what is happening now, leaving aside what “could happen”.
- Cognitive defusion: is our ability to recognize the thoughts generated by our mind and let them pass, that is, to detect them and observe them not as facts but as assumptions. The aim is to reduce the credibility and effect of obsessive and negative thoughts, not by changing their contents but by altering the relationship to them. Thus, we do not necessarily act promptly on the basis of what we think, i.e. what our thoughts dictate to us as these may not correspond objectively to the situation.
- Labeling the anxious thought: instead of labeling (tagging, marking) an anxious thought with an evaluative judgment, it would be better to put it on hold, avoiding forming an opinion regarding that particular thought while our skiing is in progress. When an anxious thought appears, we should avoid criticizing or judging it in order to exclude the initiation of the evaluation process. In this way, the waste of time that these cognitive and emotional processes consume is dispensed with. In other words, finding a way to think without making judgments, without worrying.
- Amplifying the point of view: anxiety causes our attention to focus on an immediate situation, failing to perceive the wider environment. When anxious, we get carried away towards the punctual, losing our focus on the global context.
- Changing thinking for acting: instead of worrying about the situation, we must take care of it by acting. In a state of intense anxiety, almost reaching paralysis by analysis, any action is better than none.
Soothing strategies used by instructors and coaches
Instructors and coaches help with their presence to calm anxiety because, when the skier wants to know and doesn’t receive explanations, or when is treated with indifference, his anxiety turns into anguish.
The following strategies could help calm anxiety:
- Set goals according to the level of learners and athletes.
- Reduce competition among members of the same group.
- Talk about the symptoms of anxiety.
- Make it clear that the anxiety experienced is momentary and normal.
- Promote confidence and self-esteem.
- Encourage learners and athletes to evaluate their own performance realistically.
- Support positive self-talk.
Conclusions
- Anxiety can be defined as a negative emotional state that inhibits, reduces, or disturbs our performance and leads to states of blocking and insecurity.
- It can be interpreted as a general adaptation syndrome.
- It has a great influence on our motor behavior, which impairs skiing performance and can lead to blocking if a high level of anxiety is experienced.
- At lower levels of anxiety, it can alter execution patterns, especially the fluidity of our movements as they become less efficient by requiring greater energy expenditure. A possible effect of this decrease is our return to previous levels of motor learning, i.e., movements become ‘de-automated’.
- It is convenient to work on anxieties since it gives us peace of mind to know and understand that these are the source of our own defenses.
- “Fear sharpens the senses. Anxiety paralyzes them”, Kurt Goldstein.
